The Jester, The Clown and The Acrobat
by TitchTitan
Summary: Dick Grayson had to watch his parents die in front of him. Luckily, a kind-hearted adult took him in and helped him through his grief. Her name was Harleen Quinzel A.K.A. Harley Quinn, partner and lover of The Joker. Dick found a new family with them, and with them, happiness. But, he never accounted for how meeting the Young Justice team could affect his life forever.
1. Chapter 1 - Coming Together

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 1 - Coming Together

It had taken days of pestering, but finally The Joker had agreed to let Harley Quinn go to the circus for her day off. This wasn't just any circus, though. This was Haly's circus, home to The Flying Graysons – the best acrobats around. She had always secretly admired acrobats – oh, how she wished to soar through the air so effortlessly as they did. Not that she liked them any better than clowns, don't even believe that for a second, or she would hunt you down and-

It was at this moment that she stopped that train of thought, retreating from her mind to the present, and with it, the real world.

Stepping up to the ticket booth she asked, "One ticket to Haly's Circus please."

The man inside smiled and replied, "Of course, that will be $9.50." **(AN: I have no idea how much the circus costs – especially in America – I'm British)**

She handed over the money and received her ticket. Feeling giddy with glee to be there, she made her way to the seat assigned to the ticket. Sitting down, she felt happy, for it had a great view of where the acrobats would perform. She couldn't wait 'til then.

She checked her program that she had "borrowed" from someone outside. All right, she stole it, but she honestly couldn't be asked to wait to get inside just so she could buy it. The Flying Graysons were set to perform at the end of the show.

" _Great," she thought, "It'll be fresh in my mind when I go home."_

The show began to raucous applause as Haly himself took the stage. That wasn't surprising, as it was his job after all. No. What was surprising was the hint of worry she thought she saw flash over his face. Mind you, it was only for a split-second, so she took no notice of it.

" _The knife-throwers and clowns weren't anywhere near as good as Mister J,"_ she noted, _"But then again, how could anybody even come close to being as good as my puddin'."_

Finally, it was time for the last act- The Flying Graysons. Harley's heart filled with joy at the anticipation of finally being able to see them in action.

Then the lights all went off.

At first many audience members were confused, but the chatter stopped when spotlights started to shine on the platforms up high.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please put a warm hand together for the one and only – The Flying Graysons! Featuring John, Mary and their son, Richard "Dick" Grayson!"

This was met with the biggest applause of the night. And with that, they were off, _flying_ through the air on the trapeze.

" _They really can fly, can't they,"_ thought Harley, awe-struck.

Then the ringleader stood with a spotlight to state, "For their finale, The Flying Graysons will be performing their famous routine, all without a net. For his safety, Dick will not be taking part due to his age."

A soft creaking could then be heard, only audible to the jester's attuned ears. Realizing what was happening a moment late, she could do nothing but watch as the ropes snapped, leaving the two parents to fall to their doom. The mother screamed for her child, who could do nothing but watch in terror as his parents died in front of him.

She could almost feel her heart breaking at the sight. No child should have to witness that, should have to go through that.

The boy seemed to remind her of someone important in her life, she just couldn't put the name to them.

A low laugh, evil in its own way could be heard in the silence – and it clicked. This boy reminded her of the most important person in her life – The Joker.

Thinking about it, she could see the connection the two had. Then she thought to herself, if the boy's parents were dead, he was an orphan. And if he was an orphan, he was up for adoption. She had always wanted a child, and here was one, available for the taking.

It wasn't exactly what she had come here for, but she would gladly take it – er, him.

 **Linebreak**

 **THE FOLLOWING WEEK:**

John and Mary Grayson's funeral had come and gone, with Bruce Wayne himself paying for it. Harleen had gone and payed her respects, vowing in her mind that their son would be cared for.

It was now that the eight-year-old had been sent to Gotham Orphanage that Harleen had decided to make her move. She had reason to suspect that the playboy billionaire was planning on adopting him herself.

She walked through the stained-glass double doors and walked up to the receptionist's desk.

"Hello, Madam. How may I help you?"

"I am Harleen Quinzel. We spoke over the phone?" Harley replied uneasily.

"Yes, Miss Quinzel. You wanted to adopt one of the boys we have here?"

"That is correct. I was hoping to adopt Richard Grayson."

"Well, if you'd like to take a seat, we can get on to the details. Don't worry, it's just a little background info, accompanied by information on how you would care for him. We want to make sure that he goes to a safe environment."

"Alright then."

Half an hour later, they were done.

"Miss Quinzel, I am pleased to say that you seem like an excellent person to look after young Richard. We'll have to inform him of what is happening, and he'll have to get his things together, so expect him to be ready to go with you tomorrow."

"I shall come back then, then."

"See you tomorrow then."

And with those last words, she got up and left with a wave and a smile on her face.

 **Linebreak**

 **THE NEXT DAY:**

"Are you ready Richard?" Harley asked in a small voice.

"Yes miss, I wanted to leave here the moment I stepped inside this шибан place," he said in an even smaller voice, heavy with accent, "Please call me Dick, everyone else does."

Harley dropped the confused look on her face to reply, "Okay Dick, you can call me Harley then." Her curiosity picking up, she followed up with, "What was that you said about this 'place'?"

"It's Bulgarian for f*cking," he replied. "I use it because my family and I are Romani, gypsies if you will. Romani is made up of several different languages, and I tend to use Bulgarian when angry."

"Well you shouldn't." Reacting to his bemused expression, she added, "You shouldn't be swearing at 8 years old, I'll have none of that alright?"

"Alright then mi-Harley." She beamed at him calling her that. _"She has a nice smile,"_ he thought.

"Come on then," she said. "Let's go to your new home."

They set off, through the city.


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Family

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 2 – A New Family

After a ten minute walk, the pair arrived at a warehouse in the middle of town. Dick had no reason to know that this was The Joker and Harley Quinn's base for the time being, so he didn't really have any negative thoughts.

That being said, he didn't have many thoughts at all. It was too soon after his parents passing.

As they headed towards the large doors, he realized that they were going to enter. Curiosity getting the best of him, he piped up to the lady known to him as 'Harley'.

"Harley, why are we here?" his voice barely louder than when he last spoke.

"I live here hun. Don't worry, it's nicer inside, I promise," she replied, with a smile on her face.

"Okay then. But is there anything I should know?"

"The only thing I can think of for now is the wonderful man I live with. Oh, he's the most amazing man in the world. While he may look a little odd at first, you get used to it. So please don't judge him on his appearance like everybody else. Just give him a chance."

Dick gave a slight tilt of the head as a nod, slightly surprised by how well 'Harley' spoke of this mysterious man, but also wondering why she had to add in the last few sentences - he couldn't look that bad, could he?

Alas, like many other times in his life, Richard Grayson was about to find out just how wrong he was.

Convinced that the boy she had brought back to her humble abode would be alright to bring in, Harley Quinn took one deep breath, opened the looming double doors and pelted out, "Puddin', I'm home! And I have a surprise!"

At these words, The Joker, who had currently been lounging next to the radio in a different section of the heavily customized warehouse, sprung up and started to race towards where Harley was.

"What is it? I love surprises! What did you bring me Harls?"

Reaching the hallway which housed the door, it was needless to say that the clown prince of crime was at least a little shocked to see-

"A kid?"

 **(A/N:This would be a great place to stop, but I want to add more)**

While surprise inhabited his face, the signature grin only he could pull off stayed the entire time.

Meanwhile, Dick seemed to shrink down behind Harley's legs, a little shocked and almost scared at the strange man who had appeared.

After all, who wouldn't be at least a little scared at a guy with white skin, green hair, scarred lips and a demonic smile? Add that to the fact that he was only 8 years old... you get the idea.

The only reason he wasn't scared, was because of the obvious fact that he was from the circus. It may seem strange, but this man almost comforted him, for he reminded him of clowns and thus, his home in the circus that he had gotten used to.

"This is Dick, I err, adopted him."

"Really? So you're now his mother?"

"Adoptive mother."

The Joker's grin seemed to grow larger. "Does that make me his adoptive father then?"

"Of course Mr J! You're okay with that right?"

"You bet your sociopathy I am! I always thought it would be a hoot to have a kid. And shark-eating piranhas. And-"

"You've told me all that before, but why didn't you mention you wanted a kid?"

The Joker simply shrugged, before turning to the 8 year old in front of him.

Noticing the lost expression on his face, he suddenly felt an urge to be ... _nice_ for a change.

"What happened to him? He looks ... broken."

It was at this point Dick opened his mouth to answer, before choking, and letting fresh tears roll down his face. This prompted Harley to scoop him into a hug. To her delight, he didn't reject it. Instead, he squeezed her back, letting some of his pain burst out.

This lead Joker to become even more puzzled. Looking at his partner for info, he received her mouthing back to him, _'his parents recently died'_.

Something about that clicked. Hadn't he heard about something like that?

This situation lasted for about a minute - Dick crying, Harley hugging him and Joker trying to get 4 from 2 and 2. When Dick seemed to finally be stopping, 4 was gotten.

"He's the acrobat boy! Isn't he?"

Hearing those words sent Dick into a fresh bout of tears, causing Harley to send the man she loved an angry glare and a nod.

After taking it all in, 'Mr J' realised the gravity of the moment, and what he had done with a few bad-placed words.

"Kid, I'm sorry about your parents and for bringing it back up again. It may not be much consolation, but you have us now. And I promise, we won't let anything happen to you. We'll make sure at least one of us is with you."

This seemed to reassure Dick, as he stopped crying and asked in sniffles, "Why at least one?"

"You mean you don't know?"

Dick shook his head, he assumed it was something to do with Gotham, but he had not been there long and thus didn't know much about the crime-riddled city.

"Someone doesn't know who I am, that's a first. I'll just have to enlighten you then." He flourished his hands, gesturing to himself. " _I_ am the one and only crown prince of crime, The Joker!"*cue psychopathic laugh* "And this is my lovely partner, Harley Quinn."

Dick's face lit up in recognition," I know you! When we found out we were coming to Gotham my mu-m-mum told me all about you." Harley was relieved. She was worried that he was going to start crying again at the mention of his deceased mother.

"She told me about how you were a bad person, but I didn't believe her. Anyone who makes so many people laugh must be a great guy. And here I am, being proved right! You must be a great person to take me in like this."

"Kid, we're going to get along real well. Harley, you picked a real winner here!" These two sentences caused all three to break out in smiles.

"T-thank you both. You two are being so good to me. I-is is it okay if I were to call you two my parents. It's just, you're acting like it already and, well, I need somebody to fill that role."

If it was possible, the two villains' smiles grew larger at hearing this question. They could both tell that this boy was special, and he wanted them to be his parents! So, naturally, they jumped at the offer.

"Of course you can!" They both yelled out in sync, filled with ecstasy.

When the boy visibly flinched, they realised just how loud they had been.

"Ohh, I'm your mummy! That makes Red and Sel your aunts! You know, together people call us 'The Gotham Sirens'. Just wait 'til you meet them! They'll love you!" Harley squealed.

For the first time in a week, Dick gave a genuine, heart-warming smile.


	3. Chapter 3 - Aunts

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 3 - Aunts

Over the next week, Dick and his newly found 'parents' got to know each other better, the eldest of the trio opting to stay inside their warehouse rather than go out on their 'night time walks'.

It was during this time that Harley had started calling him Dickie-bird, after learning the nickname his mother had for him, robin. After some (a lot) complaining that she got to that name first, the Joker settled for Dickie-boy.

Oh, the originality.

And so, one week later, we find Dick Grayson-Quinzel with his adoptive mother and father late in the evening, tired. The day, as the others in the week before it, had been spent to get to know each other on a deeper level.

It was Dick's yawn that made Harley realize how late it was.

"Look at the time! Dickie-bird, you better get to sleep. Look at you, your eyes are already shutting!" It was true. With each passing moment his eyelids were drooping more and more.

"O-okay mum" he turned and walked out the door of their lounge and down the hall.

Harley smiled, which then turned into an 'O' of shock as she realized what he had just said.

 _Mum._

Unable to help herself, she let out an involuntary squeal of delight at the fact that her little boy thought of her as his mother already. As a former psychologist, she understood that it was when it slipped out naturally that you truly meant it.

Especially if they didn't notice it themselves.

The apartment building ten blocks away were complaining about the squeal they heard that night the next day.

 **Linebreak**

The next day:

"Rise and shine bird boy! We're having guests today that you're mother is gushing for you to meet!" the man of the house - scratch that, ware-house - cackled.

This caused his adoptive child to groan, "Shut UP Dad."

While you may think he was being rude, it's completely understandable when he's clapping metal trashcan lids together right above his head.

Grinning at being called dad, the aforementioned 'dad' shoved Dick out of his bed, prompting a cry of surprise and a little bit of pain.

"Alright, alright I'm getting up! кървав АД!"

The Joker chuckled from understanding the separate language, after forcing (read: Threatening) him to teach him all the ways he swore. A little weird, but this _was_ the man rated most insane in _Gotham Today_ magazine, so who knew what he would do.

Leaving him to get ready for the day, he descended the stairs, opting to slide down the banister instead, something he'd learned from the boy changing at that moment.

He immediately wished he hadn't, as it would have given him a little more time away from what was in front of him - his sociopathic girlfriend freaking out.

He tried to step back out before she spotted him, but alas, he was too slow.

She rushed up to him, a look of panic eminent on her face. Wasting no time in which he could escape in, she grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up and slamming him to the wall.

"They'll be here in 10 minutes! What if they don't like him? What if something goes wrong? What if -"

Seeing it as his only hope, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips, resulting in her shutting up with a giddy smile on her face, letting him go to the ground.

"Everything's gonna be fine Harl. We all know Silena's a big softy, one look into his eyes and she'll be sold! Plus there's her thing for things with wings. She likes the bat, she'll like our little birdie! And Pam will be fine with him as long as he doesn't start decapitating flowers or something! It's gonna be _fine_."

She visibly relaxed, her breathing becoming regular again.

"Thanks. I needed that. You're right, it's going to go great," she mumbled from his chest, where she had buried her head.

It was at that moment that Dick walked in, slightly annoyed.

"Alright I'm ready, now tell me -" he cut off at the position his parents were in. One look made him blush, turn around and walk away after throwing over his shoulder, "I'm just gonna pretend I didn't see that."

His blushing parents (read: Harley, Joker took it in his stride) puled apart for him to count to three and turn back around.

"Let's try that again. Now tell me who's coming!" he exclaimed, obviously excited despite the awkward situation he had just set his eyes to.

A grin not unlike her partner's spread across Harley's face at the mention.

She let out a squeal, "Just wait! They'll be here any second now! You'll love them!"

It was left at that. The trio sat down on their assorted furniture inside their living room.

There was a silence (read: awkward) for a minute, until -

"HAHAHAHAHA DINGDONG!"

The personalised doorbell rang, causing Harleen to spring up and practically fly to the door.

Throwing it open, all that was seen of the two women at the door was of Harley throwing herself at them for a hug.

"Red! Sel! You're here!"

"Of course we are! When you said you had something important to tell us we wouldn't miss it! So what is it then? Don't tell me you're pregnant!"

"What, NO! ...But you're not that far off actually."

This peaked their interest. What could not be having a baby but close?

"Now where to start? Well, you know how I got to go to the circus like I wanted to a little while ago?" At the nods she continued. "I got to see The Flying Graysons like I wanted, but... during their act they died."

"We know this, we read the newspaper. Get to the point."

"Their son was left alive and ... weeeeelllllllll."

"Spit it out woman!"

"Ikindofadoptedhim."

Cue dropped jaws and the looks of disbelief.

It took a couple of minutes, along with Harley waving her hands in front of their faces for them to comprehend what they'd just heard. Harley Quinn had a child.

"Do you want to meet him? He's just in the other room."

Vigorous head-nodding ensued, causing Harley to lead them to their lounge.

Upon entering the room, her face fell. Dick was gone. But The Joker was not. And she had a feeling he had something to do with it.

"WHAT DID YOU DO! WHERE IS HE!?" she screamed, moments before jumping onto him and beating the shit out of him.

Because of this, neither of the couple noticed when the boy flipped down from the overhead light with popcorn in his hands, happily sitting on the floor and watching his mother beat up his dad.

Oh, how he loved those moments.

While the chuckles couple didn't notice him, the two villainesses known as Poison Ivy and Cat woman did.

While they could understand how one could find what was going on funny, they were still surprised at the youngster's laughter.

Those thoughts vanished from their minds when he turned around and noticed them. Cue the awwws, 'cos flippin' hell was this boy cute.

The two instantly felt themselves melt when they looked into his incredibly blue eyes, neither noticing him stiffen under their gaze a little.

It was in this time that everyone was incapacitated that he analysed the two women in front of him. Since he knew almost nothing about Gotham, he had no clue who they were.

After a while, Harley stopped destroying her boyfriend, worry settling in now that she could remember why she was angry in the first place.

"Dick!" she screamed, jumping to her feet prepared for the worst.

What she was _not_ prepared for though, was to hear a "What?" come from behind her.

Startled and hopeful, she turned around to see him sitting in the lap of her feline friend while she and 'Red' fawned over him.

Her jaw slack and confusion written over her face, her mind was in a labyrinth of theories, trying to figure out what had happened. So, naturally, when she tried to ask a question, she struggled.

"But, you, I - wha?" Maybe struggled isn't the _best_ word.

Obnoxious laughter burst out from behind her, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"We wanted to prank you, so Dickie-boy got up on the light when you came in to scare you into thinking he was gone. He was here the whole time and you fell for it! You should have seen your face!" her _beloved_ gasped out, laughing in between words.

Seeing her face, Dick seemed to shrink into Selina, ensuing coos from the two on the sofa with him, issuing a "sorry."

This calmed her right down. He just had that effect on people.

"So," she began, sitting down on another sofa, "I take it you three have met?

"Not formally."

"Well then. Dick, these are the women I see as sisters, and your aunts, Pamela Isley and Selina Kyle. Or, as the world knows them, Poison Ivy and Cat woman. Girls, this is Richard Grayson, our adopted son."


	4. Chapter 4 - These cables won't be cut

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 4 – These cables won't be cut

Standing atop Gotham city Police Department, a 14 year-old boy with black hair chuckled to himself, relishing in the irony. For the past week, the men inside the very building he was resting on had been searching for him more than ever. Something about 'matching a set'.

However, the more he took his time to think about it, the more time it took him to figure it out. And when he did, he groaned and muttered to himself about being stupid.

It was a clear night, with only a gentle breeze that blew through his hair and at his face, as if caressing it.

His mind soon came to other things, letting him fall into thought. This was broken when he heard a door close, and the smell of tobacco reached his nose.

It only took him seconds to realize that the grumblings accompanying the scuffling and smell belonged to one of the detectives in the GPD.

Cursing under his breath, he fled to the edge of the rooftop, intending to escape before the officer saw him out in the open.

He knew this didn't work when he heard the gasp from the adult male. Cursing out loud this time, he threw himself off the building, taking out a metal pole the length of a police baton from the 1900s. Holding it horizontally in both arms, he lined it up with the nearest tower, before pulling a seemingly non-existent trigger. This caused two long cords to fly out of panels on either end of the stick, attaching themselves to the side of the tower he had aimed at.

He immediately started to swing from the cords, as if it was a second nature, letting loose a cackle and a smirk once he heard the startled officer call out to him.

"Stop right where you are Trapeze! Or I'll shoot, I swear I will!"

This only succeeded in making him laugh so much he nearly fell off, before catching himself and continuing on his way.

Listening to his instincts, he jumped up into the air with a flip mid-jump, before falling back down and grabbing the pole between one hand.

Feeling secure, he turned around at his waist and flipped off the man who's bullet he had avoided.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to catch me _officer!_ " He yelled back. "Because I can tell you now, _these cables won't be cut!_ "

Soaring away, he couldn't help but remember the day he had made that promise to himself and his biological parents, the day he had been given his second chance to fly...

 _*Super awesome skip into flashback*_

 _"Diiiiiiick! Get down here now!" Came the voice of one Harleen Quinzel from the 'ground floor' of their 'house'._

 _"Coming mum!" As had become their way._

 _When he entered the lounge, he was greeted by what some would call a strange sight. He, however, called it normal._

 _The sight itself was of his adoptive mother and father standing side by side, the former hiding something behind her back, and the latter with a slightly bigger smile than normal._

 _"What are you two up to this time?" He inquired, with the slight trace of worry._

 _"You wound me, my boy! Why do you always think we've done something when we want to talk to you together?" His father exclaimed, as dramatic as always._

 _"Because you're you."_

 _"Hmm. Well, that's fair."_

 _"ANYWAY! Birdie, we have something we want to talk to you about. You remember what day it is today, right?"_

 _"Judging from that, something important." He thought for a moment before a smile crept across his face, matching his mother's. "It's our anniversary today, isn't it?"_

 _"YES!" She squealed. "And to celebrate, we made you a couple of things that we hope you'll like. Think of it as a new beginning with us."_

 _"Well, what is it then?"_

 _She reached behind her back, pulling out what looked something like his old acrobatics costume._

 _"I- I love it. Thank you." He said sincerely, tears threatening to leak out of his eyes, a couple already making it out of his eyes before he could stop them._

 _"We thought, since you're our son, and support what we do, you would maybe want to err join us as Trapeze." She asked, uncertainty and fear creeping through her voice._

 _The tears were falling freely now. All he could manage to do was nod his head, trying to convey how much this meant to him through his eyes._

 _"I swear, my cables won't be cut, in honour of you two, my parents." He whispered unheard by anyone, in his signature mixture of languages._

 _*Flashback ends here ma peeps*_

It had been 4 years since then, and the three of them had only got closer to each other as a family. As soon as he showed interest in something, the elder two went out of their way to make it better for him. The only thing that had stuck, though, was programming and hacking. His parents had 'enlisted' (read: held at gunpoint and threatened) the best teacher they could find.

The only other significant thing that had happened in that time would have to be -

He was brought out of his musings by a pair of arms wrapping around his chest from behind.

"Well hey there handsome."


	5. Chapter 5 - Chaton

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 5 - Chaton

Dick sighed as he felt his only friend push herself into his back a little more as she hugged him from behind, pressing her large-for-her-age chest against his back.

"Really Katie? Now of all times?" He turned around, only to be met with a cute pout on the face of his blonde companion.

"But Dickie!" She whined, "I thought you would like some support at the moment. You know, seeing as how you're spending you three's special day with the _other_ two in Arkham." She flinched at the end, her obvious fear of the place showing.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that I want you to be making yet _another_ move on me Kate."

"Aww, come on! What do I have to do to get you to like me?"

"You know I see you as my sister _chaton_. Je ne vous aime pas de cette façon."

This put a scowl on her face, "Curse your perfect knowledge of other languages." She grumbled.

"You're just annoyed 'cos you can't say anything without me knowing what it is, little miss half-French." He chuckled. "Now would you mind getting off?"

"Yes, yes I would."

He sighed, knowing that he would be stuck there until she let him go and instead drifted into his memory of meeting her.

 _*Super awesome skip into flashback*_

 _"Diiick!"_

 _"What is it this time?!"_

 _"Your Auntie Sel is here with something important to tell us!"_

 _"Alright, coming!"_

 _Once settled in seats, Selina Kyle began to speak._

 _"Where to start? I mean, that had a part in it, but this was a bit more important..."_

 _"Spit it out Kitty Cat!" came the obnoxious cry of the Joker._

 _"Fine then, I'll be blunt. I've adopted a child."_

 _Cue the blank stares. Until.._

 _"Boy or Girl?" coming from Dick._

 _"A girl, your age actually birdie."_

 _"Ooh, do we get to meet her!" was the squeal escaping Harleen's lips._

 _"Funny you should ask. Katie!"_

 _"Yes?" came the response from the head of blonde hair strung up in a ponytail hanging out of the doorway between the kitchen and the lounge, where they currently were._

 _"These are the other three I was talking about, Harley, Joker," her lips curled upwards in distaste, prompting an exclamation of protest from the mentioned, "And Dick."_

 _"Hi." "Hi." Came the simultaneous greetings from the two, causing blushes to creep onto each of the faces of the 11 year-olds._

 _Dick decided to test something, "Alors, tu t'appelles Katie?"_

 _The question caught her by surprise, before she answered, "Oui, tu parles français?"_

 _"Évidemment. Cela et bien plus encore."_

 _"Mignon et intelligent, me likey."_

 _"I'm afraid that I don't quite follow."_

 _Rolling her eyes, she mumbled "Garçons," leaving Dick confused as to what she meant by that._

 _While this exchange had been happening, Harley had fixed Selina with a look and questioned, "French?"_

 _"Her mother was. She's an orphan herself, bless her. They died when she was 6. I've seen how happy you two have been with Dick, so I wanted to see if there was anyone out there for me. She just feels, I don't know, right."_

 _Harley gave her friend a smile, before turning back to her son and his new friend, making her smile grow._

 _*Flashback ends here*_

"Say, Kate?" He asked suddenly, startling his female friend.

Gathering her composure, she answered with, "Yes?"

"You say you want to help me get through today without mum and dad. How about doing something with me to do just that?"

"What?" the hope in her voice evident.

He grinned, "By helping me break them out of the stinkhole they were placed in, Arkham Asylum itself."


	6. Chapter 6 - Breakout

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 6 - Breakout

"Are you sure about this?" _Chaton_ hissed, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Nobody's ever completely sure about anything." He replied, before scaling down the side of the apartment building they were perched upon.

"That _isn't_ an answer!" She whisper-yelled down at him, trying to keep quiet while making her own way down.

He sighed, before answering properly, "I'm not sure, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with them today Kate. Short of murder that is."

"Just making sure. I haven't been in Arkham before, and I don't want to be in there longer than I have to be."

"Then go, nobody's stopping you. I could _probably_ do this myself."

"The person stopping me is you. I'm willing to do this for you. Think of it as a favour that I intend to collect, or brownie points."

"We have to get through this first."

"You do realize I'll collect either way, right?"

"And you remember me saying I'll do anything?"

" _Touché._ "

A silence fell, as the duo trudged their way through the alleyways to the hill that Arkham lay upon. When they reached the base of the hill, they stopped, and instead turned to the road after finding sufficient shrubbery to hide in.

"When's it going to get here?"

"According to the schedule, five minutes. But who knows whether that'll be right. The only time I was in one of those trucks they took an extra fifty."

"And you're sure that you changed them round?"

" _Yes_. I hacked the records so that they'll take the one with the holes in it. It'll work."

"So what? We're just gonna sit here 'til then?"

"That's the plan."

 _FIIVE MINUTES LATER:_

The two heads in bushes snapped up in sync when they heard the low rumbling of an asylum truck making its way along the road. **(pic at top is the model I'm basing this off)**

"Remember what to do?" At her nod he continued without missing a beat, "We have to be extremely quick or this all blows up in our faces."

They waited for it to reach them before making their move.

"Go." his voice barely a whisper.

The two young teens darted out onto the road and jumped at the side of the truck, latching on with their hands and feet. This was because of something Dick had been able to create - magnetic gloves and shoe soles.

As quick as they could with the wind resistance, they crawled over the side of the truck to the front of the container, where Dick input a code on his hologlove (that he _never_ took off) underneath his magnetic glove that caused a 70 by 70cm square panel to eject slightly and slide forwards. It was through this that they crawled into the container's inside, in the space Dick had had hollowed out from a day he was bored. It had finally come into use.

They sat tight for the bumpy ride up the hill, knowing they could make a noise if they moved.

It took a while, but they eventually heard the opening of gates. They quickly moved to either side of their compartment, before opening the hole in the floor and placing the panel to the side.

Dick counted the seconds 'til the moment to move.

 _28...29...30..._ 31!

" _Go!"_ he hissed.

They both dropped through the hole and started rolling the second they touched ground.

This enabled them to reach the outer ventilation shaft, taking them to the fans. Continuously moving at a slow pace, the time to move through was easily calculated, as performed by the 14-year-old genius.

After that, it was simply the job of navigating their way through the complex. Which, of course, proved to be no problem at all given that Dick had hacked his way to the map of the shafts.

Carrying on with the plan, they split up, with Dick going to his father and Katie to Harley. Once there, they both slipped their detainee a com.

Meeting back up in the vents without anything amiss, Dick started to count down from 5, without anyone knowing why.

 _"5...4...3...2..._ 1!"

Everyone braced for an explosion or something, 'cause with him you couldn't be sure.

Instead, they got the Mission Impossible tune.

Feeling the questioning look from his female counterpart and just _knowing_ it was coming from his parents as well, he put on an innocent face and using his best innocent face, responded with, "What? I'm allowed to have _some_ fun with this."

Cue the sweatdrops.

"All right. I've had my fun. Now let's get you out of here."

 _Meanwhile, in the guard control room:_

The guard on duty at this point of time was not happy. No, instead of being pleased that Arkham currently housed the famous couple of criminals, he was worried.

He prided himself on being able to pick up on patterns, and he had suspected one for some time. So no, instead of being happy that The Bat had captured Joker and Harley Quinn, he was worried about what might happen next.

For at this point, it was well-known by everyone that the two had a kid. A kid called Trapeze.

This kid seemed to be the bane of the Bat. You heard him right, the almighty _Batman._

He had only ever been captured once, and even then it was because that goddamned stick of his had jammed. Even then he escaped with an insane amount of ease a week later, stating that his curiosity about Arkham had been sated for a while.

It was almost as if he had been intentionally captured to see the inside.

Most people just saw him as a smartass little jackass, but not him.

No, _William Ulric Sebastian Slater_ saw the makings of a pattern. **See what I did there?**

Every year since Trapeze had first shown up there was a single day that nothing happened to do with the trio. If any of them were in Arkham they seemed to miraculously escape the day before, or in one case, on the day itself.

It wasn't a definite, but it was too coincidental for him to ignore. The makings of a pattern were there, he just wasn't sure.

But it was because of that pattern that he was worried.

 _Today_ was that day.

Throughout the day he had been shooting glances at the date, as if to reassure himself that he wasn't imagining it. It was causing him to be quite on-edge.

So naturally, when music started blasting through the entire prison he immediately knew what was going on.

All of a sudden, his radio was blasting with messages from guards throughout the prison.

Selecting the option to respond to all, he belted out in his soft voice, "LISTEN TO ME! EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET TO CELLS 102 AND 394. IT'S TRAPEZE! HE'S TRYING TO BREAK THEM OUT!"

He then breathed deeply.

Now he just had to make a very important phone call.

 _With the teen villains:_

After listening to the radio feed he'd hacked into, Trapeze couldn't help but feel his trademark smirk falter, before donning an intrigued look on his face. He'd have to meet this person later on.

Then the reality of the situation hit him: he only had three minutes at best to break his parents out of Arkham.

He felt the colour drain from his face. It wasn't impossible, but it was a marathon away from being easy.

He needed to be quick.

 **Linebreak**

"HAHAHAHAHAHA" The cackle bounced around the room, stopping the running guards in their tracks. They had all heard so much about the infamous, signature cackle of Joker's brat. Along with this they had also heard how much he seemed to like using the shadows. Reminded people of the Bat, and that was scary enough on its own.

So imagine their surprise when he dropped down right in front of them, looking as menacing as the caped crusader with a happy-go-lucky smirk on his face.

"Hey boys. Let's talk. I don't want you getting to my parents, as that would make busting them out a lot harder. You guys don't want me getting to them, as I would break them out. And so we've come to an impasse. But worry not! For I have a solution. All of you against me. Winner gets...well, winner gets what it is we're at an impasse about. How about it?"

Getting over their shock, the guards nodded their heads, wary of the situation they were in. For all they knew, he could have already have freed his parents, or anyone else for that matter.

Only one was brave enough to ask, "Why? There's thirty of us, grown men might I add, against one of you, a kid."

"So you fall into the trap that young people use all the time then, do you?" He let out a short laugh. "So that's how the Justice Toddlers defeated the Injustice League, is it? The greatest weapon of the young. Shall I tell you? Yes, I think I shall. Underestimation. You adults all think the same. 'Oh they're just a kid, they can't harm me.' But what if they had actually been trained to fight. _What if_ they were much better at fighting than you. No. You never think about that though, do you? That is the power of the young; you underestimate them and they use that to their advantage. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I want this to be at least a _little_ interesting. So what are we waiting for - Let's do this!"

He pulled out his baton, pressing a button that caused it to elongate, before twisting its midsection, causing it to break apart into two batons the same size as the whole one at first. Twirling them around casually, he lowered himself into a crouch, tensed, waiting to attack.

Noticing the guards' hesitation, he smirked once more, before springing forward.

Instead of charging straight into them like they expected, about a foot away from making contact with the man in front he flipped over him, landing in a crouch and sweeping the legs out from the men around him. When the 6 men's heads hit the ground, he hit each of them with his batons, knocking them out.

Before anyone could strike him in his close proximity, he ran up the front of the next guard in front of him, kicking him in the head as he did a backflip to get away.

 _23 to go._

"Still underestimating me?" This had to finish quickly, he knew that. While he was doing this, Kate was giving His mum and dad the silent self-working drills he'd invented. They were efficient enough to work in 3 minutes, he just needed to provide that time and be outside their cells to catch one of them, as Kate could only support one. The problem was, there was another route that guards could be taking to get to their cells, and he couldn't cover that one while he was still fending off these ones.

As much as he wanted to have fun with this, he alone understood the urgency that he pull this off.

Sighing, he put his batons back together, putting it away and instead pulling out a smoke bomb he'd designed. Not only did it produce a smokescreen so thick it was impossible to even detect heat signatures, but it was also capable of knocking out a horse.

"Well, this was kinda fun, but I've gotta go. There's more of you to entertain. Bye now!" He said casually before tossing the grenade into the middle of the throng and calmly walking away before breaking into a sprint as soon as he was positive they couldn't see him. He might have been on a mission, but he still had an image to keep for God's sake!

 **Linebreak**

After knocking out the last of the guards coming from the other way, Dick heard Katie's voice come over his com.

"We're ready to get them out of here, we just need you now."

"On my way." Was his reply as he used his trapeze to launch up to the nearest window. He quickly broke through and made his way round to his Father's cell, and sure enough, there was his dad sticking his head out of a hole big enough for him to climb out through.

"At dad's now. On your 6 pops." He joked as he watched his dad whip his head from looking to the opposite direction to see him.

Now next to him, he attached the cables of his trapeze bar to the little overhang outside the cell as he instructed his dad on how to use it. Watching to make sure nothing went wrong, he slid down the cables, using his hands and feet with the metal lining he had created to protect himself to slow his descent.

When he hit the ground, he collected his prized possession and diverted his attention to looking for his father, as he had disappeared.

He caught sight of him, and looked ahead of where he was running to see his mother. Of course he was running to her, the big softie. Only their closest friends knew this, but his mother and father were married, and deeply in love. It wasn't common knowledge, as his dad was so paranoid about her being targeted in a fight over him that they acted as if their love was one-sided in public.

So he wasn't surprised in the least to see him kissing her deeply after being separated for a week and a half.

Deciding it was about time to leave, he cleared his throat, making his jump apart, as if they had forgotten where they where and who they were with.

Which they probably had.

"We can have a family reunion later, right now we need to get out of her before the Bat appears. I'm too tired to take his crap right now."

And with those words they followed him to the car he had selected to be used for their getaway.

After easily picking the locks of the gates, courtesy of Dick, they set off. After a while, Dick noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He instantly knew who it was.

I mean, who else jumped on top of buildings after a car?

Without meaning to, he let out a growl, shocking the passengers of the car.

He sighed, "I'll go deal with him." He simply stated, before opening the window and crawling out. He smiled at the "Be careful," he got from his mother and friend.

He rolled on the road, before stopping and shooting his cord off to a building in the middle of the skyline, making it obvious for Mr Tall, Dark and Brooding where he was going.

He knew he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to try and take him in.

 **Linebreak**

A few buildings away, Batman was having an internal argument. Should he go after Trapeze or his parents? On the one hand, he knew that Selina's child was with them, and he had never had the opportunity to combat her, so he had no clue what she was capable of. But, on the other hand, he couldn't pass up a chance to bring in the brat who'd escaped him so much.

Sure, he had caught him once, but that was only due to his opponent's equipment acting up - a rare occurrence.

Making up his mind, and having a feeling that the boy knew his decision before he did himself, he made his way to the building he saw Trapeze heading to, knowing he would be waiting for him there.

 **Linebreak**

Dick smiled to himself as he saw the dark knight change course and head to him. At least his family was safe for now.

"Alright Trapeze, I'm here. Now come on out and I'll make this easy on you. I know you're tired from fighting all the guards."

"Then you obviously don't know much Batsy boy. I feel great!"

Having pinpointed his position in the shadows, Batman suddenly threw a batarang at him. Luckily, his reflexes allowed him to dodge it, but barely. He had felt it slice open his cheek, drawing blood. And he knew his adversary had seen it too.

"Alright then. If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!" He snarled, before charging at him.

They threw blow after blow at each other, with the other dodging or blocking it, and Dick could feel himself tiring. He would not last much longer, because of the energy he had wasted fighting the guards, and he knew that both of them knew it.

It was because of this, that Batman started putting more into his punches and kicks, forcing Trapeze to block them, injuring him a little in the process.

Dick started to panic, before gaining a calm mind-set and looking for a way out of the situation he was in.

It was when an idea hit him that he broke away. The Bat would no doubt expect him to run away, so he did just that.

When he reached the edge, he threw himself off it, before turning around and firing his trapeze at the ledge above. He instantly shot up, before detracting his device to slingshot himself up, feet first.

After he had jumped off, Batman ran to the edge to search for him, as Dick had expected. What he was greeted with surprised him.

Dick's feet collided with his jaw as he flew back up, dizzying him.

Trapeze used this time to jump off and swing away, knowing he had escaped for now.

Batman looked out across the skyline as soon as he had righted himself, before deciding that he wouldn't be able to catch Trapeze now.

 **Linebreak**

"You're okay!" Was what he was greeted to as the two girls jumped him with hugs.

Laughing as they broke away from him, he was pulled into a hug by his dad, who simply said "Thank you." It was all that was needed between the two.

"I couldn't bear to be away from you two today." He replied just as simply, feeling the tears brimming in his eyes.

Wiping his eyes with his arm, he turned to all of them and asked, "What now?"

He was immediately thrown to the wall by Katie as she spoke, " _Now_ I collect that favour."

He paled, knowing that he had walked into that one. Unfortunately, the girl worked specifically to be stronger than him, so she could pin him until she got tired.

He just decided to comply, he was too tired to resist at this point.

"What do you want?"

"You to make passionate love to me before realizing that you do love me, and become my boyfriend."

"Nice try, but no."

"Fine. I want a kiss then. An actual kiss, one where you take part too."

He sighed, " I guess that's fair. I mean, I couldn't have done it without you."

That was all he managed to get out before he felt her soft lips touch his own. He hesitantly kissed back, knowing she would keep it up until he did.

Soon enough, he felt her tongue pushing its way into his mouth, shocking him so much that he let her in, her tongue starting to explore his mouth.

He let her have 7 seconds before pushing her away, stating that it was enough.

He then turned to his parents, wrapping them both in a big hug, just happy being with them on that day.

After all, it was their anniversary.


	7. Chapter 7 - An Interesting Fellow

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 7 – An Interesting Fellow

The man who was known as the joker to the world, was an interesting fellow. Now, if you said this in public, you'd be considered almost as crazy as him. Because although the man was many things (sociopathic, a murderer, worst of all, a clown), he was by no means _interesting_. No, he was something to shy away from, someone to be scared of, the reason for your bed-wetting nightmares _even if you are a grown adult_!

Even with all this, the one factor that never came into circulation was, in fact, the one that proved that he was, indeed, interesting.

 _People didn't know the real him._

The man behind the mask if the joker looked no different, of course. He didn't just escape from batman and instantly become a different person. You'd have to be magic to do that (and it's not like that actually exists, right?).

The real joker was a different person though. From the way he acted to what kind of person he was to those that knew him.

At the top of that list, of course, were his wife and son, the joys of his world.

To the outside world, he was the worst villain in the world, the one person you should truly be afraid of, _insane._

To his Harleen and Richard however, he was the man they loved.

And that man was all that counted to them. Sure, he was misunderstood. Sure, he was actually insane. But that didn't matter to them.

To them, he was a great father with a tragic background.

Born to a clown and a nurse, it quickly became his understanding that laughter was the best medicine. That lesson was the memory of his parents that he clung on to after that were tortured and killed in cold blood before his own eyes.

He quickly lost his mind after that.

Over his years, he fell deeper and deeper into insanity, truly becoming the joker the world knew him to be.

That all changed when he met the woman who still took his breath away .

Harleen Quinzel.

With her and her therapy sessions, he felt saner. He soon fell in love with her, needing her to stay this new man he enjoyed being. He had explained everything to her in the last session they had, and had been overjoyed when his feelings had been reciprocated.

And by everything, that meant everything.

Including the one thing in his mind that he couldn't shake.

Laughter was the best medicine, so to fix this broken world, everybody would have to laugh.

He never once lied when he said that he just wanted to see the world laughing.

The woman he loved was there for him every step of the way, and he her when behind locked doors.

He only acted like he did in public to protect them. Protect them from the countless number of enemies he had made throughout his life, never showing one weakness.

His whole mental state was something for psychologists to marvel at for its sheer number of complications.

But he would do anything for his family, no matter what. And if anyone hurt them...

Well, they would find out why he was the only man the dark knight of Gotham feared.


	8. Chapter 8 - Young what now?

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 8 – Young what now?

"Dick!"

"What!?"

"Could you run to the store and grab me some cyanide?"

"Sure thing!"

This was the kind of conversation that was considered the norm in the joker household.

So of course, instead of going to a shop of some kind, Trapeze headed straight for the Gotham star labs to steal cyanide.

Now, normally he wouldn't have been caught, his aunt Selena had made sure of that. This time, however, he 'acidentally' tripped an alarm while making his escape.

Don't give him that look! It was a sunday without anything to do and he was bored. He wanted to fight!

NOT the fools that called themselves security guards. No, he wanted a fight with the dark knight himself. But until he got there, this was the best he had.

"Come one batsy, where are you already?"

Somewhere across the city:

Batman sneezed.

"What's the matter bat? Catching a cold? Why don't I beat it out of ya!" yelled Killer Croc in the deep voice of his.

"No." Came out of Batman's mouth, killing any kind of conversation before it could start.

Wanting to goad him on, croc opened his mouth, before being knocked onto his back by a fist to the face.

During the time it took the reptilian giant to get up, the dark knight received an alert and set up a communications link with the cave, where his partner currently was.

"Magpie, get the team to go to star labs, Trapeze has been spotted on the roof trying to escape from a theft. I need you to cut him off and apprehend him."

"What?! B-but Batman! You know even you can't beat him, let alone me! What makes you think that we can do it?"

"You and the team work well together, you know each other's strengths and weaknesses. You can do it, you just have to believe in yourselves. I _trust_ you to do it Magpie."

Swallowing, the young teen replied," Alright then, I'll get the team there right away."

 **Linebrea** k

"Hold up! You're telling us that this kid is able to take down BATMAN and he expects _u_ s to bring him in!"

" _Yes_ Wally for the last time _yes!_ I've already explained everything to you 3 times now!"

"Just how good _i_ s this guy!?"

 **Linebreak**

The bioship touched down silently in camo mode on the roof of the building opposite star labs.

This, of course, did nothing to stop Trapeze from noticing them from where he was already on top of the same building, hiding in the shadows.

Upon exiting the hidden ship, the sidekicks - he knew they hated being called that - were looking at the labs and the surrounding buildings, obviously trying to spot him.

All except for Mr. Super teen.

Damn him! He'd forgotten about his super hearing and sight, so when he immediately swung his head round to look directly at him it came rushing back.

"Congrats super loser, you know how to use your powers. Now what are you idiots doing here, junior justice losers." He walked out of his shadow clapping.

" _Again_ with that name. What is it with villains and calling us that?"

Ignoring Kid Flash's outburst, Magpie stepped forward, "Batman asked us to take you down."

Trapeze just stared at them for a moment, as if he was unsure what to make of the threat. Then, suddenly, he burst out laughing.

"Maggie, I've kicked your ass more times than i can count. What makes you think that adding some other wanna-be heroes and a hottie will let you win?"

"For the last time stop calling me MAGGIE!" He calmed down after Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder. He then stepped forward himself.

"We will defeat you because we are a team."

"And if anything, we're _youn_ g justice, not junior!"

"Shut up Kid!"


	9. Chapter 9-Confrontation and Humiliation

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 9 – Confrontation and Humiliation

"Team, attack plan ALPHA," came the steady voice of Aqualad.

Attack plan ALPHA was their standard offensive start when fighting someone new. After all, the only one of them with any experience with the seemingly demented acrobat was Magpie, and he was easily beaten, if the villain was to be believed.

The plan allowed them to gauge their opponent's skills in battle, while not putting their own out there too much.

As it was, it was useless in this situation, as Trapeze had already hacked into the cave's computer mainframe, where that plan among all the others was digitalized and stored.

But of course, _the_ y didn't know that.

As it was, Kid Flash raced over to take on the suave villain, while Miss Martian used her telekinesis to throw Superboy at the teen for a superpunch to knock him down.

Anticipating the leading move, he pulled the pin on one of his proudest burglaries: a red-sun grenade from the utility belt of Batman himself.

Forcing himself to take a couple hits from the speedster, he let a smirk adorn his face as his attention was obviously taken by what he dropped to the ground. Kid Flash seemed to have realised what it was, as he turned to yell at the incoming superbullet to, "Get back!"

Alas, it was in vain. The entire move had been pre-calculated, the teenaged villain knowing what he would get out of the move.

The grenade went off, lighting up the roof with red light as the radiation depowered the Kryptonian clone in one swift move, blinding him and the speedster in less than a second.

Knowing his time to strike had come, Trapeze launched himself forward, knocking Kid Flash to the side and knocking the Kryptonian clone unconscious with a well-placed punch to the jaw.

Feeling a slight pressure upon his (admittedly weak) mental barrier, he did what he knew would work - brought to the surface of his mind the night his birth parents died.

The emotional despair he felt that night came with it, and he grit his teeth as he waited.

M'gann M'orzz widened her eyes in horror at the image playing across her mindscape. No child should have ever experienced that! And, as it seems, neither should she. The negative feelings proved too much for her to handle, and she fainted out of shock.

Trapeze smiled as he pushed the memory back into its prison. It was almost pitiful how easy it was. Although he did regret the fact that she would likely remember what she saw. Inevitably the Bat would learn of it. Oh well, a problem for another day.

These two acts had happened in less than ten seconds, leaving the conscious members of the team's mouths agape, surprised at what had just occurred.

Zatanna was the quickest to react, rushing to M'gann's side to check on her.

Artemis was next to recover, firing a special arrow that contained a contorted net at Trapeze, hoping to catch him in it. It sprung about 5 foot in front of him, the net bursting from the front.

Not to be put off by something as simple as a net (he scoffed), he followed his muscle memory, and in one fluid motion, ducked down to the side, grabbing the corner closest to him, before spinning around net in hand and launching it at the shocked Artemis and Magpie.

It was only due to the fact that neither had expected anyone to be able to do something like that that he got away with it. Next time they fought he'd have to use something different, he mused.

Luckily, the net followed through, catching both non-powered heroes in itself. Before they could escape however, Trapeze made sure to throw an electro-stun disc on top of them, using an electric current to incapacitate them both.

So as to not lose his momentum, he shot off towards the sorceress. Aqualad noticed this act, and called out to her in warning.

It was all for naught.

Looking up, she noticed Trapeze already standing above her, and was too late to stop him from attaching something to her head, covering her mouth. It was only when she tried to use a spell did she realise that it was a gag to stop her homo-magi abilities.

"Don't bother trying to get it off sweetheart. Only I have the key." With that, he turned to face Aqualad.

"So, what happens now Fishboy? I've already taken out your team. I can't imagine what was running through Bats's head when he decided that this was a good idea. The phrase is _quality_ over _quantity._ "

Before the Atlantean could respond, they both heard a yell.

"Don't forget about me!"

Kid Flash's temporary blindness had gone away, leaving him fully capable to try and take out the annoyingly good villain.

A yellow-and-red blur was seen crashing into Trapeze's side, sending him skidding across the roof, knocked off-balance.

Not wasting any time so as to allow him to pull off any other tricks, Kid Flash immediately began circling Trapeze at super speed, slowly but surely cutting off his oxygen supply in an attempt to knock him out from lack of oxygen.

It didn't take too long for the genius to figure out his play. It also, hadn't taken him long to figure out what to do if he was ever caught in this situation.

Taking a deep breath of what remained, Trapeze took out his baton, extending it as he did.

Still holding his breath, he stuck the pole out into the blurry tornado, smirking in satisfaction when he heard a yelp of pain, milliseconds before the blur went flying into the wall, knocking it unconscious.

"Now where were we?" He turned back to look at Aqualad, a cocky smirk adorning his face.

The resident Atlantean was rendered speechless, in shock at how efficiently the teen in front of him had just taken apart his team.

After a couple of seconds, Trapeze saw no change, and quickly became bored.

"Well, I'm off." He turned on his heel towards the still-struggling body of Zatanna. Said magician noticed his approach and started to back away, before finding her back up against the wall.

He smirked at her predicament, before leaning a hand next to her head, "Don't worry beautiful, I won't hurt you. You're just going to be coming with me." He grimaced. "Oh god, that sounded super stalker-y."

"Hold on if you don't want to go splat," he teased, before scooping the ravenette up in his arms, and jumping off the side of the building.

This act shook Kaldur'ahm out of his stupor, leaving him to gaze on as the teen villain swung away with his teammate in his arms.

"Batman is going to kill me," he muttered, surveying his team in different forms of disarray.


	10. Chapter 10 - Captive Magic

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own YJ or its characters. I only own the plot and my minor OC.**

Chapter 10 – Captive Magic

There was one thing that remained at the forefront of peoples' minds when thinking about the Batman. You _did not_ want to make him angry.

Anyone who had done so spent the next few hours looking over their shoulders to make sure that they weren't being followed by the dark knight.

The reason: the infamous batglare.

The specific glare the team found themselves under the ministrations of.

"What exactly do you mean by he took her?" the slow, yet threatening voice ground out.

As his protégé, Magpie had the most experience with an emotional Batman (Granted, it was few and far between, but it happened), so it was no surprise when he was nowhere to be found.

Aqualad stepped forward, "I mean that he was able to incapacitate all of us, and by the time we came to, he was gone, with Zatanna."

Batman sighed, "It's my own fault for sending you after him. I actually thought that maybe you lot could succeed where I always fail." His expression once again became fierce, "But I made a promise to her father that I would keep her safe, so you'll all be helping me find her, understood?"

At their nods he dismissed them, before turning towards the zeta tubes. Just before he reached them, he stopped and spoke out, "Magpie, stay with the team for a while, I have someone to talk to." He then programmed a location for the zeta tubes and teleported away.

 **Linebreak**

William Slater lived in one of the adequate parts of town, which was saying a lot for a place like Gotham.

It was on this night that he couldn't sleep, so he instead decided to have a glass of warm milk on his fire escape, in remembrance of what his mother used to do for him when he couldn't sleep when he was younger.

So, imagine his surprise when a deep, stoic voice cut through the quiet night air.

"William Slater?"

Startled, his head immediately shot to the side, where he found Gotham's resident caped vigilante.

Smart enough to be cautious, he responded with a question of, "Why do you want to know?"

"Rumour has it that you were the one who alerted the asylum that Trapeze was trying to break out his parents."

Nodding slowly, he replied, "That's right."

"What I want to know, is how you knew that. There's nothing to suggest that you're one of their goons, and there were no cameras that could have given him away, he's too good for that."

Straightening himself, he gave an honest answer, "It was the date sir."

"The date?" Batman appeared to raise an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's something I've noticed over the years, sir. Ever since Trapeze has shown up, there's been one day a year when the circus trio never does anything. No heists, no nothing. Even if one of them is in Arkham, they seem to escape on the day or the day before. That was the day. It also helped that the theme song for Mission Impossible came on."

All was quiet for what felt like an eternity for Slater, but in reality, was only 20 seconds, until Batman finally spoke again, "You're right. Pretty smart to figure that out." After a moment's more contemplation, he requested, "I'm gonna need you to do something for me..."

 **Linebreak**

As Zatanna came to, she noticed that the room she was in looked nothing like her room at the cave that she stayed in.

And, like all great clichés, it was at that moment she remembered what had happened previously, before she had taken a lungful of chloroform.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, before stopping. Almost in disbelief, she raised her hands to her mouth, where she found no magic-negating gag.

" _Tropelet ot evac,_ " she said, reaching for the familiar tug of her magic. The teenage sorceress was disappointed when nothing happened, though was only left confused when she felt something blocking her magic from taking hold.

"Not gonna happen sunshine. Those cuffs are designed (by moi of course) to limit the amount of magic you can do. Just enough that you can take care of yourself in here." She spun around in shock as she noticed Trapeze sitting in the corner for the first time.

"Where am I?" she demanded.

He put a hand to his chest, as if physically hurt by the comment, "I'm hurt that you don't realise honey. This is my house!"

"Your... house?" Zatanna hesitated to ask, hoping she had misheard him.

"Well, if you want to get technical, then it's an abandoned warehouse redecorated to look like a house but still."

"Do your... family... live here?" Her eyes were full of fright as she popped the question.

"Yeah, but they won't hurt you."

Zatanna scoffed at the thought, remembering all too well the stories Magpie had told the team of the Joker. Her face grew solemn at the thought of her friends, so that she missed Trapeze glowering at her.

"Why am I here then?"

"You're cute, I was bored and wanted to get to know you."

In return, he received a blank stare of disbelief at his reasoning.

"You're kidding."

The look she received answered that for her.


	11. Authors Announcement for JC&A

Hi there!

So, if you're seeing this, then it means that once upon a time you either clicked follow on this story, or follow author on a profile named MickldaPickl.

If things have worked properly, then that's not really me any more.

 **BUT** , the question stands:

do you still care?

I post this little dooda here because recently I've gotten back into writing, and so I've been debating what should happen to this fic.

And so I ask you! The people who once must have given a damn. If you still do, then I ask of you to tell me in the reviews what your opinion is.

There are 2 options:

1\. I just delete this blight on my life

2\. I rewrite this story, keeping the same story and all but writing it in a way that isn't cringy to read, not really too ooc if I can help it and actually completing it.

I ask those of you who care because ultimately, this fic's purpose was to get me into writing and provide something for people to read and hopefully enjoy. If that's still you, then you deserve the right to have a say in this fic's future.

So, I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you - double checks - 40?! people who followed this story.

Until then, (for the last time if I got this right) MICKLDAPICKL OUT!


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